Joseph und seine Brüder I. Die Geschichten Jaakobs
Thomas Mann’s Joseph tetralogy is a crowning work of the 20th century. Published from 1933 to 1943, this grand biblical re-telling stands against National Socialist ideology and is today considered a monument to exile. For the first time, this massive work is being presented in a critical edition as part of the Große kommentierte Frankfurter Ausgabe. The commentary documents the considerable archive of materials – notebooks, manuscripts, drafts – and presents the wide range of cultural and historical sources which were the inspiration and foundation of Mann’s work. Particular attention is paid to the reception of the work over the course of more than 20 years.
Thomas Mann, (1875 - 1955) is one of the 20th century’s most significant writ- ers. He is credited with bringing the German novel to the international stage, and his multifaceted works have received a worldwide positive reception which has rarely been equalled. From 1933 onwards, he lived in exile, first in Switzer- land, then in the US. Only in 1952 did Mann return to Europe, where he died in 1955 in Zurich.
